18 hours left = Packing (like) Hell

It's Saturday. And we are packing. Yes, in plural. I'd do it by myself, but if you have met my mother, you'd know, that nothing goes without her supervision or opinion in this house. Ever. Thus, we, are packing.

And it's chaos. I'm not going to lie. I would very much prefer to post pretty pictures of neatly folded clothes and well arranged clusters of necessities that need to be packed into which suitcase and in what order. I really would like to have that level of order. I really would. But, alas, I don't. I'm a mess. Under stress? A volatile mess. Thank you, it's a hereditary trait. Not proud of it.

Yes, so I need to cram my life into 2 suitcases, limited to 23kg each, and into 1 backpack. Easier said than done. I have stuff. A lot. And it's typhoon season in Japan. Hot, humid, wet. Just awesome. So, I'm packing, 5 pairs of shoes? Plus the pair of Asics sneakers I'm going to wear. And 2 jackets and a raincoat. Yes, I'm a very well balanced, obviously. Don't get me started on the toiletries. And my mother tried to force 2 pillows into the suitcases. PILLOWS. I CAN BUY PILLOWS IN JAPAN. I don't need to bring Ikea pillows with me.

What else? Shirts, pants, shorts, leggings, socks, hoodies...you get the point. I crammed a lot into those two suitcases. And because the first time I deemed myself finished (and proud to have survived the ordeal) as I closed the suitcases, one weighted 22kg and the other? 27kg. A tad bit over the allowed limit. What else could I do but open the suitcases and try again?

And I did. 9 times, if I counted correctly. We had 3 different scales as we shuffled the stuff from one suitcase to the other and abandoned some shirts or pants or shoes or something else less important than the potential fine of 75€ for breaking the maximum weight limit.

On the 9th time, I was satisfied enough. Suitcase nro 1, I'll dub it "Softy", was now 23kg exact and suitcase nro 2, affectionally "Hardy, 23,7kg. Close enough. I'll just beg the airport receptionist to ignore the extra 700g.

(The one in front is Softy and the one in the back is Hardy.)

I'm finished. And believe my struggle when my brother's dog just kept on sleeping on my leg, on my stuff, inside the suitcase, being just an over all worksite hazard. Hot dog doggie being a very long doggie. He's cute though, so all's forgiven. He's called Sulo (suloinen = cute, so he's name means cutie.) Worthy of his name.

My backpack is almost also packed, it's missing this tablet computer I'm using to write this blog post. And my powerbank. My flight is going to take 9h 35minutes, it's more than likely I'm going to need it. In addition to the flight time, I'm going to be spending time on the airports, a few hours each at least.

Loading area and backpack necessities. Finnish chocolate and cookies, I'm going to miss those. Fazer chocolate is life.

Good paperback is also a must-have on a long flight. My first time reading V. E. Schwab, but based on the synopsis and quick sneak peak inside, I'm pretty confident it's going to be a good book. We'll see it tomorrow.

Time left: 18 hours

Panic levels: moderate